


Worst Comes to Worst

by Gilberrts



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akumatized Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Angst, Gen, Kinda, half of an identity reveal, this is basically the backstory for some marichat i wanna write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 08:38:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10850382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gilberrts/pseuds/Gilberrts
Summary: Hawkmoth can invade the minds of anyone feeling negative emotions, including Marinette.





	Worst Comes to Worst

Thursday morning, Chloe destroyed a child's science project, so Marinette had to deal with gigantic papier-mâché (fully functioning) volcanoes before class, as well as comfort the broken-hearted little girl after she had returned to normal. Chat hadn't even been there to help, probably already trapped in school. Saturday night, a bouncer refused to let Chloe, a minor, into a nightclub unescorted. Chloe had gotten him fired immediately for doing his job, and the bouncer spent the rest of the night as Gatekeeper, blocking bridges and major roads all over Paris, refusing to let anyone through. He didn't get his job back, courtesy of Chloe's indignant screeching at the club owner. Marinette hated herself for not being able to offer the akumatized victim any substantial support or employment. Even worse, the victim didn't even hold it against her, merely thanked her and asked for an autograph.

Now, it was Monday morning, and the sight of Chloe's garish yellow clothing made her sick.

“Hey girl, how was your weekend? I'm still pissed I was asleep for most of the Gatekeeper att-”

Marinette grabbed Alya as she ran to the classroom, hoping to avoid Chloe up until the final bell. Nino and Adrien waved at them, but Marinette barely noticed, too frustrated to blush or stutter in front of her crush today.

“What's up with you today?”

Alya tilted her head as they sat down at their desk, as if she found the right angle, she could see into Marinette's thoughts. Marinette tried to ignore how uncomfortable that thought made her as she took out a notebook and a pen.

“Nothing,” she lied. “Just a little sick to my stomach.” At least that last part was true. Her rage was like a living thing, writhing in the pit of her stomach and threatening to crawl up her throat. All Chloe ever did was hurt others and ruin lives. And yet, she remained wealthy, powerful, and completely untouched by the consequences of her actions.

Marinette groaned, knowing that her anger was unproductive and would only distract her from her work. She checked the clock; she only had a minute before class started.

“Do you think Ladybug might be upset?” Marinette started at the sound Alya’s voice, sputtering before regaining composure.

“Is this another one of your weird Ladyblog theories?”

“Well, just look at the pictures taken after the last two akuma attacks,” she replied and shoved her phone under Marinette's nose.

She examined her masked self hugging the victims, giving the press half hearted waves and hollow smiles. In one, Chloe had her arms wrapped around an incredibly uncomfortable Ladybug. She remembered being stiff as a board and desperately fighting every instinct to flee.

“I don't know, maybe she's just tired.” Marinette was certainly exhausted, and not just physically.

“I don't think so.”

“Why? Do you personally know Ladybug?” Marinette winced internally, remembering belatedly that, Alya did, in fact, know Ladybug personally. She just wasn't aware of it.

“Call it a journalist’s hunch.”

“You mean, a guess,” teased Marinette.

Alya shrugged. “Pretty much.”

The bell finally rang, and the substitute teacher stood to introduce herself, her American accent obvious.

“Good morning, everyone, my name is Mlle. Leroy. Mme. Bustier had a family emergency, so I will-” She was cut off by Chloe striding into the classroom, staring at her phone. Her complete lack of self awareness carried her directly into the substitute teacher. Chloe's coffee cup crashed into the teacher’s chest, spraying coffee all over her shirt and in her face.

The entire class sat in shocked silence as the teacher sputtered and wiped coffee out of her eyes.

“I-” She was cut off by a piercing shriek from Chloe.

“Look at what you did!” She gestured to a small brown stain on her shoulder. If you listened close, you could hear the class’ collective sigh of frustration, resigned to witnessing another one of Chloe's regular tantrums. Marinette's pencil pushed into the paper, tearing it.

“I-” The teacher seemed unsure as whether to reprimand or apologize. As a result, she wasn't speaking at all, only stuttering and looking humiliated.

“Do you even know what you've done? This jacket is worth more than your life!”

Marinette punched her pencil through the paper over and over, her hand cramping from the pressure she was exerting.

“Do you think you're indispensable? You're just some substitute teacher. My father could fire you, stop you from ever working in Paris again, and no one would notice.” If those words had come from any other conceited child, they would've been empty, laughable. As it was, Chloe's threat was all too serious.

Marinette desperately tried to think of a way to make Chloe stop, but her rage-addled mind could only come up with plans that were technically illegal.

It was a warm day, and Rose had opened the windows before class, murmuring something to Juleka about how beautiful the sunlight was. This let in a little more than fresh air, though. Everyone was distracted by Chloe's fit of rage as an unassuming butterfly floated in.

Suddenly, Marinette was no longer alone in her own mind.

_Marinette, you have a strong sense of right and wrong, a quality many lack in this day and age. As Necessary Evil, you could dispense justice, and rid the world of cruel people like her. You could save the world in a way you never could as Ladybug. Do you accept my help? I only ask for one th-_

“No.” There was no hesitation, not even a second of consideration for his offer.

Alya turned to her, the only person who heard her whisper. Her eyes widened at the sight of the purple butterfly outline on her face, but Marinette barely registered her surprise.

Still, the presence in her head remained. Marinette needed to get out of here, fast. She stood, and the sound of her chair scraping against the floor drew all eyes to her. However, Marinette had only taken one step into the aisle before sharp pain exploded in her skull.

_I am offering power beyond your wildest dreams, you insolent little girl. You could build your own utopia! You could destroy Chloe, and anyone like her._

“I don't want to hurt anyone!” Marinette staggered forward, eyes locked on the door. Everyone stared, shocked into inaction as they realized what was happening.

_Don't you see that as you are, as Ladybug, you cannot change things for the better? For that, you need real power. My power._

Searing pain forced her to her knees. The shouts of her classmates became background noise as her breath came in short pants and dark spots clouded her vision.

“Get out of my head!”

Her words came through clenched teeth, as the pain intensified. The pain was like nothing she'd ever felt before. It burned like fire, and it felt as if her brain was simultaneously imploding and exploding.

_Your will is no match for the power of my miraculous. It is only a matter of time before you give up._

Marinette understood the truth of his words. Already, she was feeling weaker, slumping towards the floor. How long did she have before the pain completely incapacitated her? She forced herself to think past the excruciating pain, trying to formulate a plan. She was already halfway to being an akuma…

Inspiration struck her. She was already mostly an akuma, so this was no different from fighting a regular villain. In fact, it was easier. After all, she already had the cursed object in the palm of her hand. Her lips curved up in a smile, even as tears of pain dripped down her face.

“No thanks,” she mumbled, not feeling very articulate or witty at the moment.

She wrapped both her hands around the pencil, and placed both thumbs along the center. Her hands shook and her vision blurred, and it was all she could do to even move her arms.

She could feel Hawkmoth’s fear as he realized what she was doing, and the pain, impossibly, ratcheted up even higher.

She pushed with her thumbs as a scream of agony and determination was torn from her lips. It seemed an impossible task, to snap a number two pencil, but she could feel it bend and splinter in her grip. Finally, it snapped, releasing her from the pain.

It would've been so easy to simply collapse in relief, but Marinette knew the consequences of letting an akuma go uncleansed better than anyone. She cupped her hands around the butterfly before it got away, and spun around, looking around for an acceptable storage container. Instead, all she saw were the shocked and perplexed faces of her classmates.

Alya pulled her into a bone crushing hug that Marinette couldn't reciprocate with her hands full of evil butterfly.

“Girl, what the fuck was that?”

Everyone else shut up, wanting answers. Marinette flushed under the attention, embarrassed that she'd made such a scene. Her mouth opened soundlessly as she struggled for the appropriate words.

“Um, sorry. I got akumatized,” she said, stating the obvious.

She didn't know why everybody was still looking so shocked. People got akumatized every other day, including every other student in the classroom at some point, and Marinette hadn't even caused any property damage.

God, where was she even going to put this akuma? Marinette's water bottle sat on the corner of her desk, half-full. Inspiration struck.

Everyone was still trying to get her attention, except Adrien. He stood at the edge of the mob, staring at her with enormous eyes. He'd almost been forced to fight her, but she'd somehow done the impossible. Adrien wondered if Hawkmoth felt as confused as he was right then.

“How did you do that? Nobody’s ever done that!” Max looked somewhere between thrilled and completely lost. This was a statistical anomaly if there ever was one, and he had absolutely no idea what it meant. Was Hawkmoth weakening, or was Marinette some kind of superhero? Probably not the latter, but more research was necessary before drawing any conclusions.

“Uh, could you make the question more specific?” Marinette trapped the butterfly against the table with her left hand, and began the task of unscrewing the bottle singlehandedly.

“It's just that,” Juleka began, squirming as all eyes turned to the quietest girl in the class. “None of us said no to Hawkmoth, none of us just decided not to hurt people. No one’s ever tried to hold themselves back. Not like you.”

“Someone's probably done the same thing before and just didn't make it onto the news,” Marinette lied. She had never seen this happen as Ladybug, but she had already decided to not think about it too much until after the akuma was purified. Hopefully, she still had a chance of playing this entire situation off as no big deal.

It was a very big deal. Her deepest secret had been revealed to her greatest enemy. She was completely screwed.

Marinette stared at the open water bottle for a second before pouring its contents onto the floor. She told herself she would wipe it up in a second in order to ease her guilty conscience, but she couldn't help but feel like she was disrespecting the janitorial staff.

The butterfly fluttered about its confined space for only a moment before settling on the side of the bottle. Marinette shouldered her backpack and walked towards the teacher.

“Mlle. Leroy?” The woman looked as if caught in a daze, and turned to Marinette in confusion.

“Does this sort of thing happen often? I've heard about it on the news back home, but I didn't think...” She sounded more as if she was talking to herself than Marinette.

“Unfortunately, it's pretty common in this part of town. Ladybug should really put a stop to it.” With that, Marinette walked out the door, calm as you please. As soon as she knew she was out of sight, Marinette booked it for the stairs, taking them three or four at a time. At the landing by the roof access door, Marinette froze. Of course it was locked. Now in a somewhat private place, the reality of what had just happened caught up with her. She stared at the butterfly in the bottle as her breaths became faster and shallower. He had been in her head. He had seen everything. He could attack her when she was Marinette, he could attack those closest to her. Everyone she knew was at risk. Her concerned classmates, Alya, her parents… She was doubled over at this point, hyperventilating, when she felt tiny hands on her cheek.

“Marinette, you need to calm down,” Tikki said, her enormous eyes full of concern. Marinette blinked in surprise; she had forgotten she was not alone. Hurriedly, she wiped her eyes and straightened up.

“You're right Tikki. First things first, I need to purify the akuma.”

“That's not what I meant-”

“Spots on,” she said, effectively cutting her off.

Marinette summoned her lucky charm. For once, it was fairly straightforward: a black and red key. Marinette breathed in the outside air, muggy and still. The good weather Rose had pointed out earlier was gone, replaced by a uniform blanket of dark clouds promising rain. Marinette sighed. She needed to get this over with before the transformation wore off.

She released the akuma and went through the motions of purifying it from muscle memory. She could probably throw a yo-yo with pinpoint accuracy in her sleep. For once, she left off the cheerful farewell to the butterfly in favor of releasing her transformation and collapsing next to the air conditioning unit. She stared up at the gray slate of the sky and finally let the tears fall.

She didn't deserve to be Ladybug. Of course, this wasn't news to her, she had known that from day one. Maybe Master Fu could give the ladybug miraculous to someone else in order to keep the earrings safe. Someone who knew what they were doing. Someone who could keep their biggest secret.

Adrien scaled the side of the school, hoping to use the height to scan the area for Ladybug. He attempted to land with some gymnastic maneuvers, but he tripped somewhere along the way. He rubbed his sore head, thankful no one was there to see. Or at least he was thankful, until he heard a snort of derisive laughter from by the air conditioning unit. Adrien spun around, cheeks flaming.

“Way to stick the landing, Chat.” Marinette's face was wet and her eyes were red, and Adrien stared at her in concern. Something about today's incident was different from other akuma possessions. For one, Marinette remembered it, and had felt immense pain throughout the entire thing. Adrien felt a profound feeling of helplessness as he could only imagine what happened inside Marinette's head.

“Don't worry about the akuma. I didn't release it, Ladybug just cleansed it,” she said, forcing a smile that looked more panicked than genuine. She gestured vaguely with the empty bottle, as if to indicate the direction the superhero had left in, and expecting Chat Noir to follow suit. Instead, he hurried to her side.

“Marinette, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. Just wanted a little bit of fresh air, that's all.” Her voice wavered embarrassingly, revealing to both that she was only a second away from sobbing. Marinette knew from his expression that he didn't believe her, but hoped he would leave anyway. No such luck. Chat dropped down into a crouch next to her, his green eyes full of something like pity.

“Do you mind if I sit next to you for a minute then?”

Marinette sighed. He deserved to know.

“What happened, Marinette?” Adrien had seen it all happen, and even he wasn't sure what Hawkmoth had done, or how Marinette escaped him.

Chat looked so sincere, so sympathetic it made Marinette's chest hurt. This was the boy she had let down again. She was seized with the urge to hug him, and she didn't have the strength to deny the impulse. Chat wrapped his arms around her in response, without hesitation.

“Chaton, I'm so sorry.”

“Marinette, this isn't your fault, it can hap-”

“He knows.” She took a deep breath, forced herself to speak in complete sentences. “Hawkmoth knows I'm Ladybug.”

“Oh,” he said over her shoulder. What could he possibly say in response? Ladybug had revealed her identity, but only after being tortured by their nemesis. He had always wanted her to tell him because she trusted him, not out of despair. Faced with a situation he didn't know how to react to, Adrien opted to repress all his conflicted feelings and focus on the girl he loved. Who he hadn't even realized had been sitting behind him for an entire school year. He pulled out of the embrace, only to see that Marinette would not meet his gaze.

“I'm going to give the earrings back to Master Fu. Maybe someone else can do better than me.”

“Nope. Not happening.” He shook his head and crossed his arms, unaware of how childish the act made him look.

“Chat.” Even without the suit, Marinette's gaze was fierce and determined, almost making him fall silent in his protests. Almost.

“You don't need to do this. We could find Hawkmoth’s identity, take the fight to him!” His voice had taken on a tinge of urgency as he tried to change her mind. But he knew already from the look in her eye that she had made her choice.

“We don't have the time. For the sake of the miraculous, for the sake of those I care about, we need to pass on these earrings, _now_.”

Adrien felt like someone had punched him in the gut. She was right, of course, but some selfish voice in his head couldn't help but whine _what about me? what am I going to do without you?_ He didn't say any of that, though.

“....Which way is this Master Fu?”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not satisfied with this either, but I wanted to post at least one thing before I started a new project. I went through six different endings for this, and this is literally the best I could come up with. Thanks for reading, suggestions for possible marichat sequels are always welcome!


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